10,000 ways that will not work

“I have not failed 10,000 times. I have successfully found 10,000 ways that will not work.”: Thomas Edison

These words attributed to the great inventor Thomas Edison are very applicable to conservative Australia in November 2017. Although we haven’t tried 10,000 ways that ‘will not work’ with making our weight felt in political and social life, more like a handful of ways at present. However, it’s enough to point very clearly to what definitely won’t win the immense battles we have ahead of us.

This month we saw the culmination of a decade long war waged by the regressive left’s global movement within Australia.

Advertisement

Didn’t know you were in a war?

Those are the best type and the easiest to win, waged through entertainment, media suggestion, educational institutions and constant political pressure.

The latest battle in this war was Senator Dean Smith’s recent bill, which seeks to remove gender from the marriage act, and the postal survey that followed. For many, this was a blindside, as many never expected that the latest attack on our culture would come from the Liberal Party. For those who have been watching events in the Liberal and National Parties it was no surprise. And herein lies the issue that shows more clearly than any other how deeply in trouble our country is. We expect lunatic policies from The Greens and we expect Labor to follow, but the Liberals have been a bulwark against that regressive shift with a steadfastness of (semi) sensible policies. Howard in particular was very adept at blunting moves from the left and resisting the cacophony of pseudo-social pressure brought by the lefts’ power centres.

All of this has gone.

If you find a conservative in the Liberals and Nationals, it’s a happy coincidence. Worse, it gives the impression that the party might actually still represent mainstream Australia when it does not. The left have managed to take over the only institution in the country that had the power to stop them and the problem lies in the power structure that is selecting candidates that are more at home in Labor’s (dwindling) right faction.

There is a vast gulf when it comes to the views and ideological beliefs of candidates and the general membership of the party. Most Liberals are appalled that a man such as Malcolm Turnbull, who is clearly more at home in Labor, should have been given the leadership of the party. They are appalled that the PM could bring down a budget that was clearly written by Wayne Swan. Conservatives are horrified that multiple members of the parliamentary wing are enthusiastic supporters of such reality bending concepts as gay marriage.

Advertisement

It should be crystal-clear to conservatives now that there is no protection coming to society from the Libs or Nats. The key things they could be relied upon to protect, the nation’s finances, the civil institutions of society and national defence have all been abandoned by the coalition. Simply put, they are now the left, Labor’s further left and The Greens are now openly revealing their communist intentions. To put it another way, the ideological positions and practices of both major parties are so close that they are by default a single party. Any divisions and contentions they may have are mere spectacle, theatre and distraction. No matter which is in power, they continue the ongoing leftward march.

This brings me to my initial comments about Edison and learning how not to do it.

If we conservatives want a political party that will represent our true values, we will have to build it ourselves. It is a monumental task but if we care for our children and grandchildren, we must act.